Donald Reed, Truman Dangerfield, Rhonda Robinson, Kenneth Ray, Kathy Danberry, Kim Tieman
{"title":"Breaking chains of tobacco: empowering African American churches in West Virginia for a healthier future.","authors":"Donald Reed, Truman Dangerfield, Rhonda Robinson, Kenneth Ray, Kathy Danberry, Kim Tieman","doi":"10.3389/fpubh.2024.1472654","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Across West Virginia, tobacco use continues to be a significant public health challenge. Specifically, tobacco use is linked to high poverty across the state and disproportionately affects African Americans. A faith-based tobacco prevention network was formed to address these concerns and increase education and cessation. The West Virginia African American Tobacco Prevention Network (WVAATPN) was formed in 2021 and since then has expanded its reach across the state, involving 22 congregations. The Network's model includes annual training for lay leaders on various tobacco-related topics, tailored educational curriculum for congregations, and collaboration with national experts to enhance program efficacy. The Network has run educational and cessation workshops and promoted events such as No Menthol Sunday. Workshops have yielded positive outcomes among participants, including increased awareness of tobacco marketing tactics, higher cessation rates, and improved understanding of the health impacts of tobacco. The WVAATPN continues to expand its reach and effectiveness by advocating for policy change, enhancing community engagement, and fostering partnerships to combat tobacco-related disparities in West Virginia's African American communities.</p>","PeriodicalId":12548,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Public Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11448452/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Frontiers in Public Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1472654","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Across West Virginia, tobacco use continues to be a significant public health challenge. Specifically, tobacco use is linked to high poverty across the state and disproportionately affects African Americans. A faith-based tobacco prevention network was formed to address these concerns and increase education and cessation. The West Virginia African American Tobacco Prevention Network (WVAATPN) was formed in 2021 and since then has expanded its reach across the state, involving 22 congregations. The Network's model includes annual training for lay leaders on various tobacco-related topics, tailored educational curriculum for congregations, and collaboration with national experts to enhance program efficacy. The Network has run educational and cessation workshops and promoted events such as No Menthol Sunday. Workshops have yielded positive outcomes among participants, including increased awareness of tobacco marketing tactics, higher cessation rates, and improved understanding of the health impacts of tobacco. The WVAATPN continues to expand its reach and effectiveness by advocating for policy change, enhancing community engagement, and fostering partnerships to combat tobacco-related disparities in West Virginia's African American communities.
期刊介绍:
Frontiers in Public Health is a multidisciplinary open-access journal which publishes rigorously peer-reviewed research and is at the forefront of disseminating and communicating scientific knowledge and impactful discoveries to researchers, academics, clinicians, policy makers and the public worldwide. The journal aims at overcoming current fragmentation in research and publication, promoting consistency in pursuing relevant scientific themes, and supporting finding dissemination and translation into practice.
Frontiers in Public Health is organized into Specialty Sections that cover different areas of research in the field. Please refer to the author guidelines for details on article types and the submission process.